Tag Archives: running

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Last week, my workmates bet me (an unfit chump) the princely sum of £500 that I couldn't run a 10 kilometre race in under 70 minutes.

£500 I thought... "That's a lot of money, think of all the fags and booze you can buy with that".

Of course I naively said yes and took the bet, without really considering what I was letting myself in for. It wasn't until my first training run the other night that I realised exactly how pitifully out of shape I am. Or indeed exactly how far 10 kilometres is. And that I should probably start saving the £500 I'm going to have to cough up, when I fail.

The basis for my self-doubt is the fact that I've been a smoker for nearly half of my life. I'm also partial to a bit of beige food and I enjoy a drink. A lifestyle, I think you'll agree, not really conducive with a the sport of running.

Sure, I can skateboard for hours on end and I can do 20 miles on my bike without too much trouble, so I am active and I'm not overweight or anything. But I haven't run any kind of distance for a long time. Not since being made to do the dreaded cross-country in school. I hated it and I hated being forced into doing it. And that instilled a fear in me – a fear of running and a fear of failing at running, which lives with me to this day. So I never ran again.

But £500 is a good motivator. It's just the kick up the backside I needed to make some changes to my lifestyle. To quit smoking, eat healthier, to forget all the negative crap and just run.

So if you seen a thin, wheezy man trudging around the streets of West Wales, in what look like shoes of lead, don't be alarmed, It's just me... training for my 10K.

I'll be uploading my progress over the next few months, with stories, photos, disappointing stats and maybe a video or two. I welcome your comments, tips and mickey-taking. So please feel free to chip in. Thanks.

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I went for a lunch break run yesterday. I needed to break that spriral you get into at your desk where the to do list has it's own to do list to do and nothing is getting done.

Just a quick 10 km.

The music was set to shuffle and I got up enough speed to get into that red mist zone.

8km in, hot, looking down at the trail covered in autumns finest colours, sucking in air and listening to massive attacks karmacoma I fell into that running trance. No thoughts, unfocused vision on full auto pilot. Somewhere I rarely get to on the bike.

Then the calendar bleeped bringing me back to the 3pm meeting I should be at, it was 2.51pm and I was just just over 1.5km from work.

I arrived having bought banana chips 1 minute late cover in sweat, soaked to the skin looking fully flushed.

Ruben is a runner and biker who is running good distance weekly and riding the trails at the weekend.

And then there is me. The oldest. (This week I really really thought I was still 37 and I am actually 39) Adhoc biker first and runner. Always covered distance.

So we are pitting ourselves slightly against each other on a 10km run with challenges along the route like walls, steps, swims etc.

So in my preparation I started running again today. The usual 6 miles round fforest but with a swim in the surprisingly warm Teifi along the way and despite 2 months off the pins was only a few minutes off my best. (I've just climbed out in the pic).

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Here at the Bristol shop we have strong links with a local charity called Fairbridge West which works with some of the most disadvantaged and disengaged young people in Bristol and the West. Fairbridge West offer these young people a combination of 1-2-1 support, training and skills to help them realise their true potential and change their lives. You may remember that some of us had a box car challenge with Fairbridge last year.

They are inviting 50 people to take part in the Bristol Half Marathon on September 5th 2010 to raise money for their great cause. If it's the time of year for you to dust of your running shoes, then the 13 miles harbour side to suspension bridge run would be fun to aim for and you have plenty of time to build up those muscles and get your time down.

The places are going to be available soon, cost £36 and we will be getting some leaflets in the shop with some more info. If you are interested, contact Ella at Fairbridge West on 0117 9425362 or email her at [email protected]

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But I am not a runner.
I am not training for anything either.
I do not look at the clock and think a good time means a good run.
In the same way as I don't sing to get to the end of the song.
I just like to run.

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It's been around for a while now but since the BFJ came out, I feel that it has been a little bit overlooked in the jacket department.

It's kind of at the other end of the scale from the BFJ.

Very light and very small. You can pack it in your bag and forget it's there.

But when you get off the train and realise it's a bloody cold day and the wind is stripping all your warmth away, you'll be very glad you have the woosh with you.

Because even though it's small, and light, it's very windproof and surprisingly warm. It stops the windchill and creates a protective shell around your jumper or jacket, helping to keep the warm in and the cold out.

It's also a fantastic jacket to wear for biking, fell running or any other activity that gets you outside in the wind and the cold.

Me and ade love ours. And we think it deserves just as much attention as the BFJ.